Report Identifies Safer Processes for Chemical Facilities

Nov 28, 2008

More than 80 million Americans live within range of a worst-case toxic gas cloud from at least one of the nation's 101 most dangerous chemical facilities, which security experts say are potential terrorist targets. Millions more are at risk along delivery routes—more than 90 percent of these facilities ship or receive their highest-hazard chemical in vulnerable railcars or trucks, according to a Nov. 19 press release.

This threat can be substantially reduced by converting facilities to safer and more secure chemicals or processes, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress, "Chemical Security 101: What You Don't Have Can't Leak, or be Blown Up by Terrorists." Temporary chemical security standards enacted two years ago (and set to expire in 2009) focus almost entirely on physical security measures, such as adding gates and guards.

"There is tremendous untapped potential to protect American communities from chemical terrorism by investing in safer and more secure technologies," said Paul Orum, who prepared the report as a consultant to the Center for American Progress. "Since gates and guards may fail, the only certain way to protect communities is to remove the danger with available alternatives."

The report specifically identifies readily available alternatives for most of the 101 most dangerous chemical facilities. Adopting these alternatives, which are already used by other similar facilities, would eliminate or substantially reduce the danger to millions of Americans. In particular: